I.Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on NRPs that
may be provided to eligible adults and dislocated workers by a local workforce
development area (local area). This
policy applies to all eligible individuals served with formula and National
Dislocated Worker Grant (NDWG) funds by the local areas.
II.Effective
Date
Immediately.
III.Rescission
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Policy
Letter No. 15-14, Needs-Related Payments (NRPs) Using Adult
and Dislocated Worker Formula Funds, (July 15, 2015).
IV.Background
NRPs provide financial assistance to eligible adults and
dislocated workers for the purpose of enabling them to participate in training
programs, and are one of the supportive services authorized by section
134(d)(3) and section 170 of WIOA.
V.Definitions
Lower living standard income level
(LLSIL): As defined in section 3
(36)(B) of WIOA, the income level (adjusted for regional, metropolitan, urban,
and rural differences and family size) determined annually by the United States
Department of Labor (USDOL) based on the most recent lower living family budget
issued by the USDOL.
Poverty line: The income level defined by the federal
Office of Management and Budget and revised annually by the United States Department
of Health and Human Services in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U. S. C. 9902(2)).
Program of training services: One
or more courses or classes or a structured regimen leading to a recognized
post-secondary credential (RPC), employment, or measurable skills gains toward
an RPC.
Supportive services: Services such as transportation, child care,
dependent care, housing, and NRPs that are necessary to enable an individual to
participate in WIOA activities.
Trade readjustment allowance (TRA): Income support paid to individuals who have
exhausted Unemployment Compensation and whose jobs were affected by foreign
imports as determined by a certification of group coverage issued by the United
States Department of Labor.
Unemployment compensation (UC): Short-term insurance benefits paid by ODJFS
to individuals who are involuntarily out of work through no fault of their own,
and who meet all statutory eligibility criteria to qualify to receive benefits.
VI.Requirements
A.Eligibility
for Needs-Related Payments
The parameters for determining programmatic eligibility for WIOA
adults and dislocated workers are found in ODJFS WIOA Policy Letter No. 15-02,
Adult and Dislocated Worker Eligibility.
Participants must meet all financial and non-financial requirements, as
set forth in law, regulation and policy, to be eligible to receive NRPs.
Adult NRP Eligibility
To be eligible for NRPs, an adult must:
- Be unemployed;
- Be ineligible for or ceased to qualify for
Unemployment Compensation (UC); and
- Be enrolled in a program of training services
under section 134(c)(3) of WIOA.
Dislocated Worker NRP Eligibility
To be eligible for NRPs, a dislocated worker must:
- Be unemployed;
- Be ineligible for or ceased to qualify for UC or
TRA; and
- Be enrolled in a program of training services
under section 134(c)(3) of WIOA within the timeframes described below.
The dislocated worker must be enrolled in a program of training
services by the end of the 13th week after the most recent layoff that resulted
in a determination of the worker's eligibility as a dislocated worker, or, if
later, by the end of the 8th week after the worker is informed that a
short-term layoff will exceed 6 months.
If, due to the lack of funds in the State or local area at the
time of a dislocation, dislocated workers served by NDWG funds are not able to
meet the 13th or 8th week deadline for enrollment in training, as set forth in
section 134(d)(3)(B) of WIOA, then such individuals may be eligible for NRPs if
they are enrolled in training by the end of the 6th week following the date of
the NDWG award.
B.
Level of Payments and Conditions
Adults
The level of NRP made to adults may not exceed the equivalent
weekly amount of the local area's annual 100 percent LLSIL for a family of one.
Dislocated Workers
The level of NRPs for participants may not exceed the following:
1.For
participants who were eligible for UC and who are no longer receiving benefits,
the weekly payment may not exceed the applicable weekly level of the UC
benefits; or
2.For
participants who did not qualify for UC as a result of the qualifying layoff,
the weekly payment will be equal to the poverty line based on family size and
income for an equivalent period.
Weekly or biweekly NRPs may begin on the Monday after both
eligibility and training enrollment criteria have been met without requiring
proration of the benefit amount for a partial week of eligibility.
Note: Documentation
verifying all UC or TRA payments, the amounts paid, and that the participant is
no longer receiving benefits, must be maintained in the participant's WIOA
program case file.
C.
Participant Training Requirements
If the participant has been accepted into a training program
that will begin within 90 calendar days of the determination of NRP
eligibility, NRPs may be awarded prior to the start date of the training
classes for the purpose of enabling the participant to enroll in the
program.
All NRP participants must be enrolled in or attending full-time
training as defined by the training provider and must remain in good standing
with the training provider as defined in the local area’s NRP policy, such as
by maintaining a specified minimum grade point average for the types of
training that issue interim grade reports.
When a participant has a break in training of 30 business days
(not counting weekends or holidays) or less, the participant remains eligible
for and will continue to receive NRPs.
If the break in training is greater than 30 business days, the
participant will not receive the NRPs for that period until the participant's
training program begins again.
In the event that training is delayed, NRPs may be paid while a
participant is waiting to start training classes provided that the participant
has been accepted in a training program that will begin within 90 calendar
days.
In the event a participant’s circumstances prevent him or her
from beginning training, or the training is further delayed (over 90 days), the
case manager must make the participant aware of the need to disclose this
information to avoid disallowed costs.
The provider must also inform the case manager of delays to their
training program.
NRP funds may be used only during the period in which an
individual participates in WIOA training.
NRPs must be immediately terminated for any participant who
fails to meet one of these training requirements.
D.Training
Services
Types of training that qualify a participant for NRPs may
include:
- Occupational skills training, including training
for nontraditional employment;
- Programs that combine workplace training with
related instruction, which may include cooperative education programs;
- Training programs operated by the private
sector;
- Skills upgrading and retraining;
- Entrepreneurial training;
- Job readiness skills;
- Adult education and literacy activities provided
in combination with any other training service listed above; and
- Customized training with a commitment by an
employer or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful
completion of the training.
E.Termination
of NRPs
NRPs must be terminated for a recipient who:
1.Fails to
comply with reporting requirements defined in the local area’s NRP policy and
communicated to the recipient;
2.Notifies the
local area that he or she no longer plans to attend the training classes;
3.Fails to
attend or stops attending the training classes;
4.Fails to
maintain a full-time training schedule as defined by the training provider;
5.Fails to
remain in good standing with the training provider as defined in the local
area’s NRP policy;
6.Begins to
qualify for TRA or UC benefits;
7.Becomes
employed; or
8.Dies or
becomes incarcerated, institutionalized, physically incapacitated, or otherwise
unable to participate in current or future training services.
If a recipient’s eligibility for NRPs was based on his or her
false claims, provision of fraudulent documentation, or failure to disclose
information affecting NRP eligibility within the local area’s reporting time
limit, the recipient may be held liable for repayment of NRPs received in
error.
Under no circumstances will recipients be required to pay back
NRPs that were issued incorrectly through no fault of the recipient, such as if
the recipient reported changes resulting in termination of his or her NRPs
within the local area’s reporting time limit but the subsequent payment(s)
could not be stopped in time.
Recipients who disagree with the decision to terminate their
NRPs may file a programmatic complaint in accordance with the local area’s WIOA
complaint process. The initiation of the
programmatic complaint process or subsequent appeal process, if applicable,
shall not require continuation or reinstatement of the terminated NRPs by the
local area. However, if it is determined
during the complaint resolution or appeal process that the
recipient/complainant was eligible for NRPs for some or all of the benefit
weeks after NRPs were terminated, then payments for those missed benefit weeks
shall be issued retroactively. The complaint resolution and appeal process
shall also address the complainant’s potential eligibility for reinstatement of
NRPs for future benefit weeks.
F.WDB
Policy Requirements
NRPs are an allowable support service where authorized by the
local workforce development boards. It
is a local WDB decision to allow or prohibit the payment of NRPs. The local WDB supportive service policy must
indicate whether or not NRPs are available to eligible participants.
The local area’s NRP policy may establish limits on the
provision of NRPs including a maximum amount of funding and maximum length of
time for NRPs to be available to participants.
The local NRP policy may also establish parameters for determining a
participant’s financial need for NRPs based on family income and a process for
determining and verifying that the participant has enrolled in training.
The local policy may include reasonable reporting requirements
to ensure participants intend to follow through with training and continue to
meet NRP eligibility requirements. The
local area may terminate NRPs for participants who fail to comply with the
established reporting requirements. The
local area must implement a procedure for informing NRP recipients of any
reporting responsibilities that they have that may affect their ongoing
eligibility for NRPs.
Additionally, the local NRP policy must include language
requiring the participant to report the inability to participate in training
due to unforeseen circumstances. Also,
the policy must include the payment level determined for adults and dislocated
workers.
VII.Monitoring
Through the State’s monitoring system and during the annual
onsite monitoring review, program monitors will review the local area’s
documentation regarding the provision of NRPs to ensure that the local area’s
actions and decisions have been consistent with the guidelines of this policy
and with federal laws and regulations during the annual onsite monitoring
review. If a local area issued NRPs
during a program year, the local area’s issuance of NRPs in accordance with
federal laws and regulations, this policy letter, and the local WDB’s policy
may also be reviewed. Any issues will be
handled through the State’s monitoring resolution process.
VIII. Technical
Assistance
For technical assistance, email to the Office of Workforce
Development: WIOAQNA@jfs.ohio.gov.
IX.References
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Public Law 113-128.
20 C. F. R. §§ 680.930 – 680.970.
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 19-16,
Guidance on Services provided through the Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs
under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Wagner-Peyser
Act Employment Service (ES), as amended by title III of WIOA, and for
implementation of the WIOA Final Rules (March 1, 2017).
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 02-15,
Operational Guidance for National Dislocated Worker Grants, pursuant to the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA or Opportunity Act) (July 1,
2015).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 15-02, Adult and Dislocated Worker Eligibility (July 15, 2015).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 15-08.1, Career Services for Adults and Dislocated Workers (June 6, 2017).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 15-19.1, Poverty Line and Lower Living Standard Income Level (June 28,
2018).